


tea and tinsel

by muni_writes



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Christmas, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Gift Exchange, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth, Secret Sothis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28304778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muni_writes/pseuds/muni_writes
Summary: Bernadetta originally didn't like holidays. But when her childhood friend, now under the name Yuri Leclerc, comes back into her life, she may find light under the Ethereal Moon.Originally written for goldenkrys, during EmblemCon's Secret Sothis gift exchange.
Relationships: Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	tea and tinsel

Bernadetta did not like the holidays. Even though the Ethereal Moon should be a time for hopes, spirituality and dreams, containing her birthday, Christmas on the 25th, and Saint Cichol Day two days later, Bernadetta just dreaded being paraded in front of distant family as if she wasn't locked up all the time already. Her birthday did not mean much to her either; she never really felt that she deserved a day to herself, and any birthday examples were mainly for showing off as a noble. Being dragged in the cold to show off and mingle during winter months were the antithesis to Bernadetta's lifestyle.

As a kid she only felt joy from a holiday when a certain friend would sneak her little trinkets from the towns or take her to his favourite places during her birthday. None of his gifts to her were particularly expensive, especially compared to the lavish, soulless formalities that were given from other noble families; but they always had a thoughtful touch to it that made them special. Whether it was a novel, a cute brooch, or an odd looking figurine that his old friend gave him, the gifts always touched Bernadetta's heart. 

Her best friend always knew the best parts of the Varley domain, and the homely shops and quiet fields were so different from the Varley garden that she always met him in. She never knew someone could light up the gloomy holidays, that someone could make her look forward to her birth month.

Count Varley getting rid of her closest person meant that the season lost all joy and spirit. The winter was as harsh as the world that took him away from her. The cold air was as sharp as the pain in her heart when she couldn't see it as anything other than her fault. She would spend future holidays locked up in her bedroom, whether it was her Varley home or her Garreg Mach dorm. Her classmates made those dark times bearable, even nice; their smiles and joy touched Bernadetta’s heart, even if she doesn’t feel like she should be there with them. But she never expected holidays to become important to her again, to feel real wonder when the lights shine at night or when the dining hall fills with every food imaginable. 

⭑･ﾟﾟ･*:༅｡.｡༅:*ﾟ:*:✼✿ ✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

Everything changed when the Professor walked into the Black Eagles classroom with four new students who would sit in on their classes. They had a different air from anyone she knew, even though everyone she knew scared her. Especially their leader, who was intimidatingly beautiful, and strangely familiar. Had she really known him before, or did he just remind Bernadetta of those mysterious romance novel love interests?

Bernadetta wouldn't usually pay attention to this new development, at least in a way that didn't involve knowing who they are so she could avoid them, and she did avoid them for a while. But one fateful day, the purple haired, hauntingly beautiful Yuri Leclerc, revealed himself to be that friend from years ago. Even through the continued apologies for getting Yuri in trouble, Bernadetta felt a warm feeling at the bottom of her heart. Yuri was here. He didn't go by the same name, or anything connecting him to the past other than the scar from one of their days in the gardens, but he was there. He said he didn't hate her.

The school year was so different from that moment. Granted, Bernadetta could not comfortably go back to how she acted in the gardens right away; for anyone with her guilt it was difficult to shake off years of longing and sadness. Yuri had to chase her down to talk about it, because the guilt was something that plagued Bernadetta for years.

But Yuri cared about listening to her, even when there was so much they didn’t know about each other’s lives, and even through doors and distances, Bernadetta wanted to listen as well. Her father’s treatment of her was not fully known by Yuri and Yuri had enough experiences to fill full volumes of novels. He could be very considerate, yet he did tease and push her buttons enough to embarrass her.

Of course, Yuri’s beauty was also enough to make anyone wonder if he was real or just a combination of every one of their fantasies. Or maybe that was a Bernadetta being weird thing, and she was overstepping? His presence was surprisingly not difficult to be in, but thinking about Yuri was a whole other experience. 

The Ethereal Moon rolled around, and that meant another month where Bernadetta was hypervigilant about others’ intentions, especially with gifts. But it was the first month with Yuri there beside her. Bernadetta was far from an optimistic person, but even she had a strange feeling that things were going to be a teensy bit better.

Yuri was an enigma. No one ever really knew what he was thinking, and Bernadetta still wasn’t used to thinking of him caring for her. What could he possibly want for Christmas of all things? 

⭑･ﾟﾟ･*:༅｡.｡༅:*ﾟ:*:✼✿ ✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

One day, Professor Byleth asked to speak to her after class, and she almost escaped before they finally reached her. “Are you worried about something?” Their voice was the usual stoic one, though it felt like a direct attack to Bernadetta.

“N-no! Why would you ask me this? What do you need to know?” Why are the windows so high in the classroom? The door seemed out of reach and Bernadetta didn’t want to speak about her worries for a present. What if the Professor laughed at her? Or they found it frivolous, like her father did?

Her fears were answered with Professor Byleth gesturing for her to sit, and once she sat reluctantly, replied, "You seemed to be drawing Yuri Leclerc in the margins of your notes. As well, you have been even more worried than usual when anyone mentions Christmastime. Have you not figured out what you're giving Caspar for our Secret Sothis exchange, or is something else wrong?" 

The Professor tended to get to the point, and they were correct that something else was wrong. Even Bernadetta could get an idea of what to buy for the exchange; Yuri was still what was missing for her. But the chance that their concern was all a ploy to humiliate her was still gnawing at her mind. "If I say it, are you going to laugh?" Professor Byleth shook their head, and waited for Bernadetta to continue. "I… I don't know what to get for Yuri! We've been getting closer and I want him to like me- I mean my gifts!" It was a wonder that Bernadetta could say all of that in one breath. If the Professor wasn't listening carefully, they would have missed it all and poor Bernie would have to repeat that.

"Hmm, when I was worried about what others liked, taking them to tea always helped. You also have been a good cook, so making some finger foods would be a good idea." Professor Byleth replied.

Bernadetta only vaguely remembered the time before her teacher had the confidence to just gift people anything they happened to carry at the moment. The tea in the monastery was good, so maybe that would be good for Yuri? But it would mean Bernadetta would be gifting him her company! What if he hated the tea party, and decided to get rid of her after all? She couldn't risk that! The thought of Yuri hating her was a different heartache than what she resigned herself to. "W-what if I'm not a good partner? He would hate me!"

The Professor looked a little amused, different from their standard expression. They promised not to laugh! "I have the utmost faith that Yuri would never see you as anything but great."

⭑･ﾟﾟ･*:༅｡.｡༅:*ﾟ:*:✼✿ ✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

On Christmas day, Bernadetta prepared her dorm room for tea with Yuri. It was a hard decision to make, but she felt a strange need to let Yuri into her life, and her room is the closest thing to a home she had. Plus, she could avoid the mortifying process of asking someone to use a common room for a couple hours. The only way she ended up getting some Seiros tea leaves was because she overheard that Yuri liked that tea with sweets from one of Constance’s loud speeches. Bernadetta may still find that slightly intimidating, but she was thankful for that. 

Bernadetta set up the array of sweets she made during the morning, the ones that weren’t eaten by half the Black Eagles. Bernadetta never felt so nice doing something so domestic. Maybe it was because she was doing this for someone she cared about, and not with her father brutally judging her every move. Either way, it was getting close to the arranged meeting time. It would be terrible for Yuri to show up and for her to not be ready. It was a miracle that he even read the note that she slipped under his dorm room door; she may have been bold enough to let him into her room but Bernie could still never do that in person! Yuri approached her later that day, telling her that he will be there, and that he’ll make sure that he’ll be back from his visit to the Empire by then. 

After about ten minutes, Bernadetta could have sworn that she had a mini heart attack from the sound of knocking on the door. She relaxed once she heard Yuri’s smooth voice, because that meant she wasn’t getting dragged out somewhere last minute. She didn’t want to leave this time, when the reason she was staying was because of someone she wanted, rather than because of her own fears. “Bernie? You can let me in.”

The door was slightly opened, and Bernadetta let her closest person in. Maybe it was the lights she used to decorate, but Yuri looked even more alluring here. Bernie worried that her novel writing has been getting to her head, and she was getting too bold. Otherwise why would someone so pretty and sweet to her be in her life? 

She was short circuiting for a couple minutes too long, because the purple-haired mystery moved closer to her, waving his hand in front of her face. “Bernadetta? You there? Is there something on my face?” Bernie was worried about that, but also felt embarrassed; his amused, (almost? maybe? at least Bernadetta hopes) flirty tone indicated to her that he _knew_ what he was doing. “D-don’t make fun of me! I made your food for you!” Bernadetta exclaimed.

“And? Would you really poison me for teasing? Then you’d have killed me already.” Yuri got himself seated at the table she set up for tea. Bernadetta stood with him, the Seiros tea and sweets laid out, ready for their consumption.

“Ugh! You know that I wouldn’t, not for your Christmas present,” Bernadetta replied as she poured the tea, tensing as she never called this her present in the letter or any conversation. Did he expect more?

Either way, Yuri seemed intrigued. "Present? You really did this exclusively for me?" Bernadetta nodded quickly, of course she would put all this effort for him! He continued, "You even got all these lovely foods!" He took a taste of one of the Albinean berry tarts, relishing in the lovely tart but sweet taste. Bernie took some pride in this; all of these dessert recipes weren't for naught! She felt a swell in her chest seeing Yuri look legitimately carefree. She knew that the Ashen Wolves house leader always had a lot on his plate, from academy work to outside world affairs. Bernadetta was happy to let him rest in the place that made her feel safest. 

"Well, y-you have been very busy outside of the monastery recently, and I wanted to spend time with you away from everything… is it bad? I can change anything you want I swear I can-"

"Again, you're assuming the worst. How can I not enjoy this," Yuri interjected. Bernadetta never felt so flustered by that. Embarrassed that he said all of that out loud, but, it felt nice as well. "Also, I have something to bring you as well."

Really? Was it something from his travels, or a gift for her birthday or Christmas. He was sadly out of the monastery on that day, so he didn't celebrate it with the rest of the class. But Yuri Leclerc was here now, and Bernadetta wanted to know. "Wait, really? You don't have to-"

"No need to worry darling, you already worked hard for this, and I want to give you what I got for you outside the monastery." Yuri reassured. Bernadetta could not stop thinking about how Yuri called her "darling". 

"Ah, alright, thanks Yuri! Also," Bernadetta went into a sort of whisper, "thanks for calling me darling," Yuri smiled a small, easy smile, the kind that looked more like a smirk if you didn’t really know him well. He got out a gift wrapped present from his bag. 

"Why not open it? It's for you, you know," Yuri passed a small book-sized package across the table. Yuri had Bernadetta's trust with presents for a while, so she was willing to unwrap it at the table. Yuri looked from the side patiently, but there was a small glimmer in his eyes that told her it would be more (also was a great excuse to look into his eyes, his eyeliner really did a great job).

Bernadetta carefully undone the ribbons, and the shock of what was in her hands took over her. Bernadetta had never seen this book in _years_. Just seeing the worn storybook took her back to memories of writing this with Yuri, making it into a game to see how ridiculous the plot would become. Along with the storybook, there was an empty notebook, the kind that Bernadetta was looking for recently, but the monastery shops were sold out. There was also one of her favourite quill and ink brands, one she coveted the few times she got it in Varley before her father considered it an obstacle to being a perfect bride. Her eyes started to glisten, damn she shouldn’t be crying in front of someone, but Yuri went all the way back to _House Varley_ just to get her gifts. How does a tea party compare with that?

Bernadetta must have not been good enough at hiding her tears, because she found her face being softly held and wiped with a handkerchief. “Bernadetta, are you alright? Did I overwhelm you?” Yuri didn’t sound mischievous this time, but almost tender. Bernie shook her head, softly saying, “I just- thanks, you did so much for someone like me, when did I end up deserving this?”

Yuri looked into her eyes, an offended look on his face. “Would I do that for anyone but you?" Bernadetta looked away, still feeling hot under his gaze. She felt the need to argue, "B-but you would do anything for your people!" The second part of her argument, the declaration that _I really like that about you_ was loud enough to not need words.

"Bernie, what I do for my people is fight for their survival and a chance at life. I'm fighting for you to see yourself like I see." Bernadetta had never seen Yuri this open about his feelings, and was honestly overwhelmed. All she could do was continue crying into his arms. Yuri cared for her! 

After they stopped their embrace, and exchanged declarations of their feelings, the two ate their snacks and drank their tea in peace. Throughout the occasion, and in Yuri's warm presence, Bernadetta found herself enjoying a holiday after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope my recepient enjoys this, as well as anyone who comes across this fic. Yuridetta rights 💜💜💜


End file.
